I want to welcome you to Faith
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Chapel. I am Gordon Kainer,
retired academy Bible teacher,
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living in Santa Rosa,
California. The title of my
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presentation
today is "Only a Touch."
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I invite you to pray with me.
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"Our heavenly Father, our
world is filled with people
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that become skeptical
about you and your existence,
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who've become distressful
of your word and I pray today
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as we open that word.
Restore in us a faith,
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a trust in your word, is my
prayer in Jesus name. Amen."
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I grew up in a
farm in South Dakota.
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And when I was
about 10 years old,
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I distinctly
remember a time when my father
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came home from
working all day in the field.
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And he approached the
front of the home or a house,
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and he noticed that
our hired man was sitting
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on the front porch and as
my father got a closer look.
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He noticed he was doing
something here and he said,
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Sam, what's the
problem? And Sam said,
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Gordon knocked my
tooth loose today,
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and I am trying
to pull it out. Well,
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on hearing this, of course,
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my father got a little
bit nervous about that to say
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at least and so he
came up to my room he said,
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Gordon what did
you do to Sam today?
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And I said, I don't
know what you talking about?
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He said, well, Sam said
he knocked his tooth loose.
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I said, I know nothing
about it. Well, I don't know,
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I think my father believed
me. So we went downstairs
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and the three of us
got together and this
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story emerged. Earlier that day,
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when I was about 10
years old at that time,
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earlier that day, I was
driving our little Ford tractor
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around the farm yard
and I was probably being
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very reckless. And
just kind of goofing
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around and enjoying
myself and Sam noticed that
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and he was looking
at what I was doing
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and he was
walking through the yard.
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And he did look
where he was walking
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and he ran to a huge
machinery right down the yard
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and he nearly
busted out his tooth.
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Well, a few additional details
changed the whole complexion
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of that story. And not only
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did we not have the
complete story but I think
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I escaped some severe
discipline from my father.
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Now I shared that story
with you because all of us
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have heard things of other
people that have surprised us.
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Now we might hear
somebody have done something
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and we say how
could they do that?
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Well, how could she say
that? But then we make a wise
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decision to withhold judgment
until we hear as Paul Harvey
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would say the rest of the story.
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It is essential that we have
all the pieces of the puzzle.
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All the pieces of the story,
it will undoubtedly save us
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from unreasonable
or unnecessary problems
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and concerns.
Now, the same principle
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applies when we study
the Bible, no story, no text,
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no parable should stand alone
to be interpreted by itself.
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Now, the Bible tells us
that there is no scripture of,
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is of private interpretation
and we need to get the
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whole picture
when we interpret it.
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So, every troubling
text, every story that,
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that is perplexing to
us, every difficult situation
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that we read about in
the Bible must be studied
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within the
immediate setting or context,
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but more in that it must
agree with the overall teachings
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of the Bible. If
allowed to stand alone
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it will create
problems, it will cause doubts,
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and most importantly it
will probably present God
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in a bad light.
There are numerous
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Old Testament stories that
at first glance don't present
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a very
complementary picture of God.
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There are some stories there
that when I read them I say,
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why did God chose to put
this story in the Old Testament,
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but the truth is that
almost in every case if we take
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a closer look, a
more thorough study
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of that text or of
the story, misconceptions,
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misunderstanding'll disappear,
and we can go on our way.
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This brings us today to
the perplexing story of Uzzah.
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The man who dies
just for touching the Ark.
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It sounds a lot like
Lot's wife who apparently died
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just for looking back,
just a glance, only a touch,
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but it can often be
misunderstood to the point
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where some people
just ignore it, they don't,
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they don't want to
even look at it anymore,
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and the reason for
the misunderstanding
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is they don't
have all the facts.
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They don't fully
understand what has happened?
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How often we may
struggle with a disturbing story
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or a troublesome text to
the point where we just don't
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want to read about it
anymore. So today, we are going
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to discover what
caused Uzzah's death.
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And we're going to find
out that it must not be seen
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as an unsolved
mystery or a dark dilemma,
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but instead we will see
that it teaches something
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very important about
the gospel, the necessity
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and the complete
sufficiency of Jesus.
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So let's begin our
study. When the Israelists
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first took over the
land of Canaan the sanctuary
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was set up in a small
little town called Shiloh.
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It remained there for
almost the entire time period
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of the Judges. Now the
Judges was a time period
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of about 300
years. That's how long the
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sanctuary remained
in that little town.
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All of this changed however.
During a particular battle
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that occurred during
the childhood days of Samuel
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who was the last judge of
Israel. Now in this battle
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the Israelites found
themselves losing to the
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Philistines and then
someone got a bright idea;
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let's get the Ark
and let's bring it here
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to the battle field.
There is no way we can lose
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this battle if we
have the Ten Commandments
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in our midst. But you know,
having the Ten Commandments
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in your midst is
not the same as having
00:08:04.63\00:08:07.58
it in your heart. In some
way that illustrates today
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a problem that we are
facing in our country today.
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There are many people
who believe that having the
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Ten Commandments
edged in some cement slab
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in front of a court house or
posted on a public school wall
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or on a street legislature
wall will turn the tide of
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the battle. But
the answer is not found
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in a state directive,
but rather in the Spirit's
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power implant God's
laws on the fleshy tables
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of our heart. Sure evidence
that religious deterioration
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has taken place is
when people turn to things
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which are tangible,
things that they can touch
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and see and hear, rather
than to live by faith alone.
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Well, what happened
in that ancient battle
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when they got the
Ark? Let's read about it
00:09:07.74\00:09:10.51
in First Samuel
chapter 4, verse 10 and 11.
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So the Philistines
fought, and Israel was defeated
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and every man fled to his tent.
00:09:20.24\00:09:22.87
There was a very great
slaughter, and there fell
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of Israel thirty
thousand foot soldiers.
00:09:26.40\00:09:29.04
Also the Ark of God
was captured; and the
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two sons of Eli,
Hophni and Phinehas, died.
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Now Eli was the judge of
Israel and he was 98 years old
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about at this particular
time. And when he hears
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what has happened,
he is so jolted by it,
00:09:47.12\00:09:51.80
he falls off the chair,
breaks his neck and he dies.
00:09:51.83\00:09:54.83
The wife of Phinehas was
pregnant and then she hears
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her husband has died and
the Ark has been captured,
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she goes into labor immediately.
She dies in the ordeal,
00:10:03.53\00:10:09.07
but just before she dies she
names her little boy Ichabod,
00:10:10.57\00:10:14.51
which means "The
glory has departed
00:10:15.41\00:10:18.17
from Israel." It
truly was a dark day
00:10:18.20\00:10:21.96
for God's people.
Well, the Ark of the Covenant
00:10:21.99\00:10:27.97
is taken by the Philistines
and taken into their own land,
00:10:28.00\00:10:31.96
but it turned out to be a
real headache for those people.
00:10:33.35\00:10:36.02
When they put the Ark
into their own temple,
00:10:38.41\00:10:40.75
the temple of Dagon the
next morning they discovered
00:10:40.78\00:10:44.27
the Dagon had
fallen off its porch
00:10:44.30\00:10:46.39
and had fallen
apart. When it happened
00:10:46.42\00:10:49.57
the second day
they have had enough
00:10:49.60\00:10:51.84
and so they took the
Ark and took it to a town
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after town after town
and why the different places
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because every time
they went into a new town
00:11:00.58\00:11:02.87
the people became deadly sick.
00:11:02.90\00:11:05.05
Well, finally, the people
had enough, I mean they decided
00:11:06.28\00:11:10.84
to get rid of the
Ark and they confirmed
00:11:10.87\00:11:13.43
with their wise men as
to what they should do?
00:11:13.46\00:11:15.92
Well, here is the
advice the Philistines
00:11:17.76\00:11:19.98
got from their wise
men. We'll read about it
00:11:20.01\00:11:22.64
in First Samuel 6, verse 7.
Now therefore make a new cart,
00:11:22.67\00:11:29.44
take two milk cows
which have never been yoked,
00:11:29.47\00:11:32.78
and hitch the cows
to the cart; and take
00:11:32.81\00:11:36.03
their calves
home, away from them.
00:11:36.06\00:11:39.04
Well the Philistines
put the Ark into this cart
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and watched to
see what would happen.
00:11:47.74\00:11:49.08
Under normal
circumstances you can expect
00:11:49.11\00:11:53.16
a couple of
things, one these two cows
00:11:53.19\00:11:56.58
have never been yoked
together and they just get wild
00:11:56.61\00:11:58.53
and starting running
over the place or since
00:11:58.56\00:12:01.09
they had just left
their calves behind that
00:12:01.12\00:12:03.88
they would sort of
amble around in that area,
00:12:03.91\00:12:06.67
not wanting to
leave their calves.
00:12:06.70\00:12:08.50
But instead what
happened. These two cows yoked
00:12:10.24\00:12:14.36
to this cart walked
straight down the road
00:12:14.39\00:12:16.99
to the first Israelite
town. Well, that convinced
00:12:17.02\00:12:20.96
the Philistines that the
bad things that have happened
00:12:20.99\00:12:23.96
to them was not a coincidence,
00:12:23.99\00:12:26.09
but it was
definitely connected to the Ark.
00:12:26.87\00:12:29.15
Well, the Ark
was eventually placed
00:12:31.23\00:12:33.42
in the house of
Abinadab. A man, we know nothing
00:12:33.45\00:12:36.93
about nor do we know
why his home was chosen.
00:12:36.96\00:12:41.28
But the Ark stayed in
that home for 50 years.
00:12:42.57\00:12:45.82
Well, when David was
crowned King over the land
00:12:45.85\00:12:49.73
one of the first
major battles over
00:12:49.76\00:12:53.25
which he led out was
to capture of Jerusalem
00:12:53.28\00:12:58.15
from the Jebusites.
And David now made plans
00:12:58.18\00:13:02.40
to make Jerusalem the
capital and he wants the Ark
00:13:02.43\00:13:07.60
brought there.
And this brings us
00:13:07.63\00:13:11.25
now to Uzzah.
Well, David consults
00:13:11.28\00:13:15.53
with the leaders.
They talk about it.
00:13:15.56\00:13:17.50
He gets their approval
and then plans were made
00:13:18.47\00:13:21.78
to transport the
Ark from Abinadab's home
00:13:21.81\00:13:25.47
where it had been for
50 years to Jerusalem,
00:13:25.50\00:13:28.38
which is probably
about 9 or 10 miles.
00:13:28.41\00:13:32.01
This event is
described in Second Samuel
00:13:34.66\00:13:37.41
chapter 6 and verse 3.
So they set the Ark of God
00:13:37.44\00:13:43.57
on a new cart, and
brought it out of the house
00:13:43.60\00:13:46.48
of Abinadab,
which was on the hill;
00:13:46.51\00:13:48.36
and Uzzah and Ahio,
the sons of Abinadab,
00:13:48.39\00:13:51.50
drove the new cart. Now,
let me ask you a question.
00:13:51.53\00:13:55.88
Where did the Israelites get
the idea to transport the Ark
00:13:57.70\00:14:02.63
in a new cart? They got
it from the Philistines.
00:14:03.77\00:14:07.89
They remembered 50
years earlier that's how
00:14:07.92\00:14:10.89
the Philistines
had transported it
00:14:10.92\00:14:12.66
and they chose to
do the same thing.
00:14:12.69\00:14:14.49
Now nothing
happened to the Philistines
00:14:14.52\00:14:18.44
when they
transported the Ark contrary
00:14:18.47\00:14:20.97
to God's
instructions because you see
00:14:21.00\00:14:23.83
they were unaware of
what God had said about
00:14:23.86\00:14:27.02
transporting the Ark.
They were not held accountable
00:14:27.05\00:14:30.21
for something they didn't know.
00:14:30.24\00:14:31.61
It reminds me of the Apostle
Paul when he was speaking
00:14:33.06\00:14:35.90
to the listeners on Mars Hill.
00:14:35.93\00:14:38.61
And he says, in
chapter 17 of Acts he said,
00:14:40.53\00:14:44.70
in times of
ignorance God overlooked,
00:14:44.73\00:14:47.35
or winked at the evil
that was sometimes done
00:14:47.38\00:14:51.37
by people. Now just
because the unbelieving world
00:14:51.40\00:14:57.18
does not recognized
something as sin does not
00:14:57.21\00:15:00.94
excuse God's
people. The Bible tells us
00:15:00.97\00:15:04.90
to whom much is
given much is expected.
00:15:04.93\00:15:09.97
Well, what were the
directions that God gave
00:15:13.05\00:15:15.53
to the Israelites
regarding the moving of the Ark?
00:15:15.56\00:15:18.89
After the sanctuary was
first built in the wilderness
00:15:20.63\00:15:23.47
they moved it from
place to place and God
00:15:24.77\00:15:28.61
commanded only the
high priest could enter
00:15:28.64\00:15:31.99
the most holy
place to cover the Ark.
00:15:32.02\00:15:35.27
And then the
Levites were to lift the Ark
00:15:35.30\00:15:38.81
by the staves put that on
the shoulders and that's how
00:15:38.84\00:15:42.41
the Ark was to be transported.
And God give this warning.
00:15:42.44\00:15:47.33
In Numbers 4:15, and when Aaron
00:15:47.36\00:15:53.03
and his sons have
finished covering the sanctuary
00:15:53.06\00:15:55.96
and all the
furnishings of the sanctuary,
00:15:56.88\00:16:00.61
when the camp is set to
go, then the sons of Kohath
00:16:00.64\00:16:03.82
shall come to carry
them; but they shall not touch
00:16:03.85\00:16:07.25
any holy thing, lest they
die. Well, now let's go back
00:16:07.28\00:16:13.93
to the story of the
transporting of the Ark
00:16:13.96\00:16:17.16
in the wrong way
that we have talked about
00:16:17.19\00:16:18.78
a little
earlier. Let's read about
00:16:18.81\00:16:21.25
that in First
Chronicles chapter 13,
00:16:21.28\00:16:24.98
and we're gonna read
from verse 7 through 10,
00:16:25.01\00:16:28.70
so they carried the
Ark of God on a new cart
00:16:31.16\00:16:33.22
from the house of Abinadab,
00:16:33.25\00:16:35.19
and Uzzah drove the
cart. Then David and all Israel
00:16:36.14\00:16:40.17
played music before
God with all their might,
00:16:40.20\00:16:44.11
with singing, on harps,
on stringed instruments,
00:16:44.14\00:16:47.82
on tambourines, on
cymbals, and with trumpets.
00:16:47.85\00:16:50.74
And when they came to
Chidon's threshing floor,
00:16:51.71\00:16:54.38
Uzzah put out his
hand to hold the Ark,
00:16:54.41\00:16:57.78
for the oxen had stumbled.
Then the anger of the Lord
00:16:58.73\00:17:01.36
was aroused against
Uzzah, and he struck him
00:17:01.39\00:17:04.18
because he put
his hand to the Ark;
00:17:04.21\00:17:06.20
and he died there before God.
00:17:06.23\00:17:08.91
This was to be a very
festive and joyous occasion.
00:17:12.12\00:17:16.60
There was to be much
celebrating with music
00:17:16.63\00:17:20.90
and singing and heartfelt
rejoicing. This was a high day
00:17:20.93\00:17:24.78
for these people. But
it serves as a reminder
00:17:24.81\00:17:29.08
that when we fail to
obey God's directions
00:17:29.99\00:17:32.99
in our worship of
him all our singing,
00:17:33.02\00:17:37.80
all our
celebration, all our whatever
00:17:39.33\00:17:43.30
we are involved in, in
that particular moment,
00:17:43.33\00:17:46.27
that it does not correct
or compensate for our failure.
00:17:47.08\00:17:51.98
The Bible tells us we
have to worship God in Spirit,
00:17:53.27\00:17:56.29
yes, but also in
truth. Now the Ark had been
00:17:56.32\00:18:02.86
in the home of
Uzzah and his brother
00:18:02.89\00:18:04.65
for a long time. As it
said, their parents home
00:18:04.68\00:18:08.31
for 50 years. From
the reading of the account
00:18:08.34\00:18:11.31
it seems that Uzzah
was sincere in stretching
00:18:11.34\00:18:14.53
forth his hand to steady the Ark
00:18:14.56\00:18:17.18
when the oxen had
stumbled. Now is there something
00:18:17.21\00:18:20.91
we aren't aware of that
would help us to understand
00:18:20.94\00:18:23.23
why Uzzah died?
Let me just grasp
00:18:23.26\00:18:25.93
for just a moment.
My students were always
00:18:25.96\00:18:28.25
troubled with this
story, and they wondered,
00:18:28.28\00:18:31.31
you know, this is
something we don't understand
00:18:31.34\00:18:33.52
here in this
situation. Did familiarity
00:18:33.55\00:18:36.66
with the Ark
greeted him a spirit
00:18:36.69\00:18:38.18
of a reverence or carelessness.
00:18:38.21\00:18:40.07
Did he cherish some
secret sin which we don't know
00:18:40.85\00:18:43.25
anything about? The Bible says
00:18:43.28\00:18:45.61
that David became very angry
because he didn't understand
00:18:45.64\00:18:49.71
either why this
had all happened.
00:18:49.74\00:18:51.80
So the celebration ended
very abruptly and the Ark
00:18:53.25\00:18:56.55
was taken to the
house of Obed-Edom.
00:18:56.58\00:18:58.88
Of where it
remained for three months.
00:19:00.06\00:19:01.48
Nobody wants to get near
that Ark during this time.
00:19:03.88\00:19:05.78
It was a time period of
great uncertainty and David
00:19:05.81\00:19:09.09
spent much time
searching the scripture
00:19:09.12\00:19:11.16
as well as
reflecting on his own soul.
00:19:11.19\00:19:13.50
In his studies he
discovered the terrible mistake
00:19:13.53\00:19:17.26
they had made as to the
right way to transport the Ark.
00:19:17.29\00:19:22.19
He seriously considered the
possibility that his own heart
00:19:22.88\00:19:25.93
may not have been right
with God, and that he feared
00:19:25.96\00:19:29.66
God's judgment
might also fall on him.
00:19:29.69\00:19:32.30
But there was something
else that David thought
00:19:33.91\00:19:37.02
about and that was the
people's loud celebration
00:19:37.05\00:19:40.31
and singing and imposing
display, in the new plans
00:19:40.34\00:19:45.03
for transporting the
Ark a choir was assembled
00:19:45.06\00:19:48.44
and it was
accompanied by fewer and more
00:19:49.96\00:19:52.02
subdued instruments.
And it's quite likely
00:19:52.05\00:19:55.53
that David himself
composed Psalms 24,
00:19:55.56\00:19:58.13
just for this
occasion, sung by the choir
00:19:58.16\00:20:01.46
in the processional.
Let's read a couple
00:20:01.49\00:20:05.78
of verses from
Psalms 24. Verses 3 and 4,
00:20:05.81\00:20:10.13
who may ascend into
the hill of the Lord?
00:20:12.16\00:20:14.03
Or who may stand
in His holy place?
00:20:15.15\00:20:17.28
He who has clean
hands and a pure heart,
00:20:18.09\00:20:20.97
who has not lifted
up his soul to an idol,
00:20:21.00\00:20:24.13
nor sworn
deceitfully. This Psalm seems
00:20:25.06\00:20:29.46
to suggest us that Uzzah
may not have had clean hands
00:20:29.49\00:20:34.21
or a pure heart when
that tragedy occurred.
00:20:34.24\00:20:38.30
But in all of this,
there is something far
00:20:39.95\00:20:42.11
more series at stake
which points I believe
00:20:42.14\00:20:45.35
to the underlying
reason why Uzzah died
00:20:45.38\00:20:48.31
for touching the
Ark. You see the Ark
00:20:48.34\00:20:51.86
which housed
the Ten Commandments
00:20:51.89\00:20:53.55
represented God's
government. It was a symbol
00:20:53.58\00:20:57.71
of God's presence in
the midst of the people.
00:20:57.74\00:21:01.48
Only the high priest
could rightfully stand
00:21:02.89\00:21:06.03
in God's presence in the most
holy place and touch the Ark.
00:21:06.06\00:21:11.72
Now a question, who did
the high priest represent?
00:21:14.44\00:21:18.57
He was an earthly
type of Jesus Christ.
00:21:19.95\00:21:22.75
As our mediator Jesus enters
into God's presence for us.
00:21:23.70\00:21:27.96
Only he can touch
God in our behalf,
00:21:27.99\00:21:32.93
there's a kind of brightness
that rested above the Ark
00:21:34.28\00:21:36.58
represented the glory of
God. Sin are so offensive to God
00:21:36.61\00:21:41.37
that no sinful person
can stand in God's presence
00:21:41.40\00:21:45.30
or in his glory and
live. But more than that,
00:21:45.33\00:21:49.41
in to this world no human
hands are ever clean enough.
00:21:50.91\00:21:54.75
No heart is ever pure
enough to go into God's presence
00:21:55.95\00:22:00.82
and to approach
the almighty God.
00:22:00.85\00:22:03.43
David writes again in
psalm 24, verse 7 and 8,
00:22:06.08\00:22:09.73
where he says Lift up
your heads, O you gates!
00:22:11.43\00:22:14.47
And be lifted up,
you everlasting doors!
00:22:15.47\00:22:17.38
And the King of
glory shall come in.
00:22:18.39\00:22:19.77
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
00:22:21.08\00:22:24.88
The Lord mighty in
battle. Now as we said earlier,
00:22:25.56\00:22:31.87
it seems as though this
was a Psalm that David wrote
00:22:32.63\00:22:36.26
for the express purpose
of being sung when the Ark
00:22:38.03\00:22:41.43
was taken up to hill, to
the place where they wanted
00:22:41.46\00:22:46.92
the Ark to be. Well, we
need to remember something else,
00:22:46.95\00:22:50.71
that I think is even more
important. This was the song
00:22:50.74\00:22:53.36
that was sung by the
Angelic choir when Jesus entered
00:22:54.42\00:22:59.07
the heavens at his ascension.
We're told that the choir
00:22:59.10\00:23:05.18
that accompanies
Jesus, sang lift up your heads
00:23:05.21\00:23:09.85
O you gates, and be
lifted up you everlasting doors
00:23:09.88\00:23:13.37
and the King of
glory shall come in.
00:23:14.10\00:23:16.68
And there is another
choir surrounding the throne
00:23:18.10\00:23:20.88
and they answered who
is this King of glory?
00:23:20.91\00:23:24.49
And the first
choir responds, the Lord,
00:23:26.18\00:23:28.20
strong and mighty, the
Lord, mighty in battle.
00:23:28.23\00:23:33.05
When Jesus enters
the presence of God
00:23:36.30\00:23:38.34
at his ascension he
waves back the angelic host.
00:23:38.37\00:23:41.96
He accepts no praise, no honor.
00:23:42.96\00:23:45.44
He raises his scarred
hands before the Father
00:23:46.65\00:23:50.70
and he tells him I
have finished the work
00:23:52.08\00:23:54.88
that you've given me
to do. And then the Father
00:23:56.04\00:24:00.24
reaches out and
he embraces his son.
00:24:00.27\00:24:03.40
He embraces Jesus
and with that embrace
00:24:04.21\00:24:07.47
he embraces all of
us who are in Christ,
00:24:09.07\00:24:13.29
in accepting Jesus the
Father is accepting us.
00:24:13.32\00:24:17.84
I'm reminded of
Daniel 7, where the curtains
00:24:19.30\00:24:23.13
of heaven are
pulled back and we're given
00:24:23.16\00:24:24.71
a glimpse of the
pre-advent judgment
00:24:24.74\00:24:27.42
and we see the
Ancient of Days sitting there,
00:24:28.97\00:24:30.79
that's God and he is
surrounded by an angelic host
00:24:30.82\00:24:34.59
and then the books are opened,
then its an ominous scene,
00:24:34.62\00:24:37.62
but then everything
changes with one event.
00:24:39.53\00:24:41.79
Coming with the
clouds of heaven,
00:24:41.82\00:24:44.29
is one like the son
of man, that's Jesus.
00:24:44.32\00:24:47.45
Who enters into the
presence of God for us,
00:24:48.46\00:24:50.91
thus we can according
to Hebrew 4:16 come boldly
00:24:50.94\00:24:55.36
to the throne of grace,
where we may obtain mercy
00:24:55.39\00:24:59.34
and find grace in time
of need. When Uzzah touches
00:25:00.61\00:25:06.72
the Ark it was a
presumptuous attempt to come
00:25:06.75\00:25:12.04
into God's presence apart
from Jesus as his mediator.
00:25:12.07\00:25:18.40
In this Act, he was
attempting to engage
00:25:19.40\00:25:22.87
in relationship up
with God apart from grace,
00:25:22.90\00:25:27.00
apart from Jesus as
his divine substitute.
00:25:27.03\00:25:31.69
In the incarnation,
Jesus took upon himself
00:25:33.18\00:25:35.73
a divine human nature that
serves as a connecting link
00:25:36.58\00:25:40.38
for humanity and
divinity. No other religion
00:25:41.66\00:25:45.65
in the world, be it Hinduism,
00:25:45.68\00:25:48.02
Buddhism or Islam
believes in a savior
00:25:48.05\00:25:52.55
from sin or a
mediator. It is their belief
00:25:52.58\00:25:58.19
that they can
approach God directly.
00:25:59.56\00:26:01.57
They can approach him
with prayers that apparently
00:26:03.37\00:26:07.02
please him or with
good works that will please,
00:26:07.05\00:26:11.91
and I had to emphasize
this to my students often that,
00:26:13.40\00:26:16.60
that sets Christianity
apart from all other religions,
00:26:16.63\00:26:20.70
that we have a
mediator. We have a righteous
00:26:21.46\00:26:25.38
substitute who can
approach God. Who can touch God
00:26:25.41\00:26:30.18
in our behalf and that
sets apart Christianity
00:26:31.40\00:26:35.92
as a truly redemptive
religion. Granted as his touch
00:26:35.95\00:26:43.69
that brought forth death
was an act of disobedience
00:26:43.72\00:26:48.22
to the command of God,
but more importantly Uzzah
00:26:49.08\00:26:52.22
is a symbol of all those
who died rejecting the saving
00:26:52.25\00:26:58.18
work of Jesus. Now Jesus
put it this way in John 3:15,
00:26:58.21\00:27:03.74
"For God so loved
the world that He gave
00:27:03.77\00:27:06.81
His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth
00:27:06.84\00:27:10.69
in Him should not
perish." In John 3:15,
00:27:10.72\00:27:18.51
you have a full context that
too bad Uzzah was unaware of.
00:27:18.54\00:27:24.23
In contrast to Uzzah,
we see the woman reach out
00:27:25.90\00:27:28.75
in faith to touch
the helm of Jesus garment
00:27:28.78\00:27:31.77
and it brings her
life. It brings her healing
00:27:31.80\00:27:36.53
just a touch. It
can either represent
00:27:38.69\00:27:41.44
you're reaching out in
disbelief and dying in your sin
00:27:41.47\00:27:45.52
or reaching up in
faith and receiving
00:27:46.78\00:27:49.29
the gift of eternal
life. The choice is yours.
00:27:49.32\00:27:56.11